Teaching Sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

5 minutes – Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge
10 minutes – Part B: Reading Mini-Lesson
30 minutes – Part C: Independent Practice
15 minutes – Reflection

Part A: Activating Prior Knowledge

Activating prior knowledge prompts students to bring existing knowledge on a particular topic to the forefront of their minds. This is like opening the 'folder' ready for new information to be 'saved'. This assists students to smoothly integrate new learning into their existing schema. Before beginning, ensure students have notepaper and a pen or pencil to write with.

Step 1.

Display a piece of poster paper with ‘The Royal Melbourne Show’ (or the name of your closest show) written in the middle of the page. Explain to students that this lesson is going to be a reading lesson, but that they will be using texts related to The Show.

Provide students with one minute to close their eyes and either imagine their last experience at the Show, or imagine what they think it would be like to go to the Show.

Step 2.

Invite students to write down three words or phrases that describe or state a fact about the Show. Then, encourage students to share the words and phrases they thought of and record these onto the poster paper. Discuss common themes and point out different or interesting facts noted. Hold onto this poster to refer back to later in the lesson.

Part B: Reading Mini-Lesson

The reading mini-lesson is designed to explicitly demonstrate skills to students in a clear and concise manner. The mini-lesson should take no more than 10 minutes, to enhance students’ ability to focus and ensure they have adequate time to practise demonstrated skills independently.

Step 1.

Ensure that the Learning Intentions and Success Criteria are displayed or written on the board and read them aloud to students.

Learning Intentions:

I will accurately recall information stated in the text.

Success Criteria:

I can…

… recall information from a text.
… scan a text to find a statement which proves I am correct.
… explain my response and evidence to another student or the teacher.

Note: Learning Intentions and Success Criteria are rephrased into statements and more student-friendly language to increase the likelihood of them internalising learning goals.

Step 2.

Display the Understanding What We Read Resource resource. This can be printed A3 or displayed on an interactive whiteboard or projector.

Read and discuss the resource with the class, explaining the three general ways that we interpret information when reading a text:

Literal meaning – information that is directly stated in the text
Inferred meaning – information that we find by connecting different clues or information from different parts of the text.
Evaluative understanding – when we develop thoughts and ideas by connecting information with what we already know or have found in other texts.

Step 3.

Referring back to the Learning Intentions, explain that the focus of this lesson is on literal meaning. The skill being focused on ensures that content has been understood and remembered accurately. Explain the importance of this skill in everyday life, sharing anecdotes to support its relevance. You could share the following examples or some of your own:

Last week I was organising a dinner with my family. We were going to a Japanese restaurant we love where you pay a set price for your meal. I had organised everything and sent all the information to my family. When we got there I was discussing how great the place was with my brother and he commented that it was expensive. I thought it was really cheap and was confused by his statement. It turns out, he had remembered the numbers in the time as the price we had to pay and thought that it was $63 ("6:30") instead of $35.

Emphasise that while, in this story, your brother had read all the information in the text, he had misinterpreted it and recalled a vital piece of information incorrectly. Now read the following to the students:

Once some friends were organising a picnic. We decided to go to the local park and all bring some food to share. One friend asked what to bring, and I responded ‘Not sandwiches, I’ll do that!’ When we all turned up at the park, she had brought sandwiches as well and we had way too many. Turned out she had checked the message quickly and only seen the word sandwiches so that’s what she brought.

Emphasise to students that these examples (or the ones you have shared) demonstrate how it can be important to check the information you have read before taking any form of action.

Step 4.

Display the text, Supporting our Farmers. Also have accessible the Finding Proof Teacher Worksheet, ready for the teacher to fill out while modelling to the class. Explain to students that you will read the text aloud, then answer some questions, returning to the text to find evidence to support your responses.

Now, complete the Finding Proof: Teacher Worksheet, explaining your thinking aloud as you go. For each question, you should:

Read the question aloud.
Suggest what you think the answer is.
Skim the text to find a supporting statement, identifying whether it confirms your initial thought or shows a different answer to correct.
Record the correct answer on the teacher worksheet.
Record the evidence by quoting the supporting statement found in the text and recording in the final column of the worksheet.

Suggested answers below:

Question	Answer	Answer
Who runs the Royal Melbourne Show?	The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria	Sub-heading: “Did you know the Royal Melbourne Show is run by The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria?”
What does the RASV do to support and promote the agricultural industry?	Organises events, competitions and programs to promote the food and farming industry	Paragraph 1: “RASV is a not-for-profit organisation that has been supporting and promoting Victoria’s important agricultural industry for over 160 years, by conducting events, competitions and programs that highlight the food and farming industry.”
Who has the opportunity to showcase their produce at the Royal Melbourne Show?	Farmers, growers and producers	Paragraph 2: “The Royal Melbourne Show provides farmers, growers and producers with an important opportunity to showcase their produce and connect directly with the community.”
What tradition do you support when attending the Royal Melbourne Show?	Farming in Victoria	Paragraph 4: “By attending the Royal Melbourne Show...you are supporting the longstanding and important tradition of farming in Victoria.”

Part C: Independent Practice

In this part of the lesson, students will progress through two activities while working independently of the teacher. The first activity involves students collaborating with a partner, the second is an independent activity. The independent activity will require students to demonstrate the learned skill by recording evidence as demonstrated by the teacher, and also through a multiple choice format more reflective of a NAPLAN-style scenario.

Step 1.

Support students to organise themselves into pairs. Explain that together they will be doing the same thing you demonstrated, but the text they will read will be a welcome letter from the president of The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (the organisation who run the Royal Melbourne Show).

Provide students with Finding Proof: Pairs Practice and the Welcome from RASV President text and begin the activity. Then hold a class discussion to review students’ answers to the Finding Proof: Paired Practice worksheet. Suggested answers below:

Question	Answer	Evidence
What is the name of the RASV President?	Matt Coleman	End of text: “Matt Coleman President”
How long has the Royal Melbourne Show been celebrating agriculture for?	More than 160 years	Opening statement: “For more than 160 years, the Royal Melbourne Show has been celebrating food and agriculture…”
Who does Matt suggest are the ‘true stars' of the Show?	The animals and their handlers	Fifth Paragraph: “From the true stars of the Show - the animals and their handlers…”
Who are the five groups of people that contribute to ensuring the Show can run?	Exhibitors, officials, members, staff and volunteers	Sixth Paragraph: “The Show would not be possible without the important contribution of all our exhibitors, officials, members, staff and volunteers”
What communities does the show connect?	Rural and urban communities	First Paragraph: “For more than 160 years, the Royal Melbourne Show has been...connecting rural and urban communities”

Step 2.

Provide each student with the Finding Proof Independent Practice worksheet, and Sheep and Goats and Dogs and Cats texts then begin the independent activity. As a class, discuss students’ answers to Finding Proof Independent Practice. Suggested answers below:

Question	Answer	Evidence
How many dogs compete throughout the duration of the Show?	More than 3000	Paragraph 1: “More than 3000 dogs compete over nine days”
What do the judges assess the dogs on?	Confirmation Appearance Obedience Agility	Paragraph 2: “...with judges assessing them based on a number of attributes, including confirmation, appearance, obedience and agility.”
Where do you go to see the dogs?	The Advance Dog Pavilion	End of section on dogs “Saturday, September 23 - Sunday October 1 - Advance Dog Pavilion”
How many breeds of cats can be seen?	Hundreds	Cats section, paragraph 2: “...with hundreds of different breeds to see…”

1. Australia is the world’s largest producer of...

… corn
... wool
… wheat
… rice

2. What is the feature breed of sheep for the year?

Merino
Cheviot
Hampshire Down
Suffolk

3. Funds raised from selling the display fleeces at the end of the show will go to...

Otis Foundation Breast Cancer Retreats
The Cancer Council
Minus18
Beyond Blue

4. What will goats climb on to show their skills?

Tractors
Hay bails
Barrels and wheelbarrows
All of the above

Note: Correct answers underlined.

Reflection

1. Invite students to complete the Reflection Prompt.

2. Encourage students to share their reflections using an Inside-Outside Circle visible thinking routine:

Invite students to form two circles (one within the other) with an equal number of people in each. The students in each circle face each other. The teacher then provides a specified amount of time for students to speak to the person opposite them before having the outer circle rotate clockwise so that each student has a new partner to speak to. Once students have discussed the topic with three partners, invite them to share key points from their discussions and record them on the board for reference throughout the lesson.

Students should have time to share with at least 3 partners.

3. Display the poster created at the start of the lesson and invite students to share any new information about the Show learnt or noted during the lesson that was not included initially.

Differentiated Learning

Provision for extension – Students who complete the task with time to spare can find someone else who has finished to compare and discuss their responses with.

Provision for learning support – Students who may have difficulty decoding the texts presented to them are encouraged to work with partners who can support them in the paired task. For the independent task they can come to a designated area of the room where the teacher will work with a group of students to support them.

Teacher Reflection

Take this opportunity to reflect on your own teaching:

What did you learn about your teaching today?
What worked well?
What didn't work so well?
What would you share?
Where to next?
How are you going to get there?

The Show - NAPLAN - Directly Stated Facts

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Learning intentions:

Students will...

Success criteria:

Students can...

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